Motivation Through Compensation
The first way to motivate employees is through compensation. Many people achieve a great deal of satisfaction regarding their compensation (some studies show this can be as low as $75K for non-Silicon Valley, US-based workers). However, while compensation is incredibly important for recruitment, it becomes much less important when it comes to employee motivation.
An exception to this – and I consider this very healthy exception – are people in sales. We want to hire salespeople who will push and push to make their number. For them, it’s a combination of goal achievement and the compensation that goes with it – but it’s a real win for the company.
Let’s Talk About Compensation and How It Fits Into Motivating Your Employees
Compensation can consist of a base salary, commissions, bonuses, equity, benefits, and other perks. Every company offers a different combination of these potential ways of compensating employees, and as we speak right now, there is a battle for employees. So compensation packages are going up and employees are leaving at times to take what looks to be a better offer just because of the compensation.
Each person is going to have a different set of requirements for what’s important to them regarding compensation. Part of the role of the CEO is to determine what is the right package to put together, to find the right talent, and bring the right talent in.
As I mentioned above, there’s an argument that says once compensation is met, that requirement is met, and it no longer motivates people. There are other factors that motivate people. Let’s talk about those four other factors.
Motivation Through Mastery
People want to improve. They want to achieve. They want to be on an upward trajectory related to their skills and capabilities. If you give them the opportunity to become better at their job, most people will lean into the work and go beyond what you ask them to.
Importantly, they are not becoming masters at their job just for you, they are becoming masters at their jobs because it feels good (goal achievement), and they are putting themselves into a better position for their next job. This is a very important motivator for people. The role of the CEO is to help their employees achieve mastery. The way a CEO does this is by looking at each employee interaction as a potential teaching moment.
When you’re working with someone, you can teach them how you’ve done things in the past. You can teach them the clues to success. You can teach them how to think in a way that enables them to grow in their current role. Many of the skills around this can be around team management. If someone on your team is a great individual contributor, and now they’re in management, they have a whole new skill set to gain, And you have an opportunity as the CEO to give them mastery in management and leading.
Motivation Through Autonomy
You’ve heard the management adage “Tell them what to do and get out of the way”. This is what people really want. This is why OKRs can be so effective if they are managed well. A person has a key result they are driving toward and you give them the autonomy to get it done (mostly) any way they want to get it done.
So how do we achieve autonomy? How do we give employees autonomy so they’re motivated? The best way is around clarity around goals. This can be done in many different ways. One of my favorite ways is called OKRs or objectives and key results. And each employee has one to three key results that they’re focused on throughout a quarter.
There’s something called the entrepreneurial operating system, which also gives people clarity around what they’re supposed to do during a 90-day period. If this CEO focuses on the issue of clarity around goals, in other words, here’s what I want you to do, not how I want you to do it, then that person is left with autonomy to determine the best way to achieve those goals.
Motivation Through Purpose
Purpose is a little tricky. Not every company has an amazing purpose where they’re influencing something greater than what they’re doing in the world. But what I encourage every CEO to do is search for the purpose.
Many companies do have a purpose where the impact of what they’re doing in their organization is bigger than the company itself. It has an impact on people’s lives, the way people operate, think about things, or happiness.
I encourage you to dive deeply into what your company is all about and discover the impact your company can have on the world that is meaningful to employees. When you find it, share it often. A great purpose can help people wake up in the morning committed to your company and voluntarily work extra hours to help fulfill the company’s purpose.
Motivation Through Acknowledgment and Recognition
The role of the CEO is to provide feedback to their direct reports on what they’re doing well and what they’re not doing well, but CEOs are not generally that good at providing acknowledgments and positive feedback. It is critical to realize that acknowledgments are an extremely effective way to motivate people.
People crave acknowledgments of work well done. It’s actually wired into our brains. We receive positive neurochemicals (dopamine, oxytocin and others) when we are given positive feedback about the work we’re doing. We live for that. The CEO’s job is also to make sure that they give positive feedback to enable someone to understand what it is that they’re doing, that they should be doing more of.
Employees work hard to get the accolades – sometimes given in private – and often given in public. They know they achieved something, but they want to hear it from the CEO.
Importantly, when you provide an acknowledgment you want to be very specific about what it is that they did to earn it. It’s not enough to say “You did a fantastic job of over-delivering for that customer”. You need to say – in addition – and here’s exactly why it was a fantastic job.
An additional benefit to acknowledgements is that people are learning exactly what to do to earn more of them. And they will strive to do more of the same thing when you tell them how to earn them.
Contact CEO Coach Glenn Gow Today!
My name is Glenn Gow, CEO Coach. I love coaching CEOs and want to help make you an even better CEO. Let’s decide if we are a fit for each other. Schedule a time to talk with me at calendly.com/glenngow. I look forward to speaking with you soon.
